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Sunday, August 10, 2014

At the Mercy of the Machines

You know, I think we’re a long way from the rise of the machines or anything as drastic as that, but there’s certainly no denying that technology holds us in its spell.

My recent issues: on Easter weekend, my fancy-schmancy induction cooktop went out; earlier this week, it was finally replaced. Even I, a barely domesticated type, was lost without a way to cook up the most basic of things. My husband kept suggesting we could probably accomplish much of what I wanted to do on our grill, but I always declined. Realistically, though, I know the grill would likely have worked; heck, it’s much more advanced than the direct flame people cooked over for generations past.

Just about daily, I curse my DSL connection for moving so slowly. And I curse my ISP for not providing the latest and greatest type of connectivity to my address. I spend an awful lot of time online, and it’s horrendously annoying that I can literally watch a page load.

And, just today, I upgraded my cell phone. Due largely to the aforementioned slow internet service, I have spent most of the day just trying to get everything re-installed that I want to carry over from my old phone; I have literally been messing around with this stinkin’ phone for approximately six hours, and I still have apps that are not yet reinstalled. And ringers and other basic customization? Haven’t even started. But I know at least my C25K app and my music have to be working by tomorrow morning, because I need to use it at the gym. Last week at the gym, I broke my earbuds, so I know how critical it is to be able to have my music in order to get through the workout.

That these sorts of issues consume my energy and cause me such chagrin is not something to really brag about, but it demonstrates a state of affairs, at least within my life. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in being held hostage in such a manner by the technology that is supposed to add such convenience to our lives. Now that I think about it, it’s possible that the machines will never have to actually rise up against us in order to take over, all they’ll have to do is just go on strike, and life as we know it will slowly grind to a halt.